Digital Trends

Jabra BT800

September 5th, 2005 | by Brandon King

Design and Features

Most cell phone Bluetooth headsets are almost identical.  Add a boom here, twist a plastic edge there, and voila—a new product!  What separates the Jabra BT800 from the competition is the huge list of features not found in any other headset.  The BT800 integrates many hands-free features found in car units into a lightweight headset.

The package contains the headset, case, reset/pairing stick, and charging cord.  Instead of an AC cord, Jabra opted to use a micro USB cord.  We would have liked to see an optional USB-to-AC or -DC power cord included as well.  The reset/pairing stick is the size of a paper clip and fits into a recessed hole on the edge of the unit.

From the outside, the BT800 looks unremarkable.  The body is slightly wider than the average headset, with the only attention-getting feature being the glowing blue activity/mute button.  On the surface and facing the wearer's cheek is a small, two-line LCD.  The ear wraparound piece that secures the unit rotates and twists in almost every direction, which would sound like a flexible and comfortable headset.  Unfortunately, Jabra left out one important adjustment parameter:  It's impossible to explain in words, but suffice it to say, there is a dimension of adjustability that isn't accounted for.  The lack of this one dimension of movement makes the BT800 impossible to fit properly for average ears without extensive fiddling.  The addition of a ¼" telescoping piece would have alleviated this problem.

Button placement and usage is confusing and poorly thought out.  The interface designers were obviously trying to consolidate a large number of functions into as few buttons as possible, but in doing so created a steep learning curve for a device that should be very simple to operate.  There are a total of three buttons to access ten functions, as well as an up/down/scroll toggle.  Two buttons are set along the bottom edge of the unit, with the directional toggle surrounding the blue, illuminated mute button.  The two bottom surface buttons have three modes:  tap, press, and hold.  The mode is determined by the length of the press.  Tap = an instant, press = 1 second, and hold = 5 seconds.  To make matters worse, feedback beeps are delayed by close to a second.  To add to the confusion, the user must pair the device with the paper clip hole button, rather than a menu option.

Image Courtesy of Jabra